. >> wikileaks founder, julian assange, is speaking out from his posh prison in the ecuador embassy in london. we have been following this story today. this is the first time he has spoken out in months. >> a lot of people were waiting to hear from him. wikileaks captured the world attention by publishing a mountain of american military secrets. now he is urging the u.s. to back off from what he views as a campaign to persecute and prosecute him for telling the truth. >> i ask president obama to do the right thing. the united states must renounce its witch hunt against wikileaks. >> julian assange stands on the balcony of the place has become his home in prison as he addressed a crowd of reporters and supporters gathered on the streets of london. he has been hiding out in the ecuadorean embassy since june 19 in an effort to avoid extradition to sweden on sex crime allegations. he claims the charges are part of a u.s.-led effort to jail him for leaking state secrets on his web site. >> bringing us all to a dangerous and depressive -- where journalists fall silent under the fear of prose